Method of soot removal



April 2, 1929. s. F. FENNO 1,707,803

IETHOD OF SOOT REMOVAL Filed Aug. 4, 1926 2 oooooooooooooooo 3 006600000000000 00 4 ooooooooooooooo oppooooooooooooooo q ooooooooooooooooo 0 OQOOOO0OOOOOOOOOO oooooooooooooooo W Gear-ye Fl e 17120 Patented Apr. 2,1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT -m=|=i1-E.

GEORGE F. FENNO, OF SWARTHMORE, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF 800T REMOVAL.

Application filed August 4, 1926. Serial No. 127,165.

steam on the surfaces to be cleaned. In the case of boilersparticularly, this requires a large number of pipes located in the pathof the flue gases where they are subject to rapld deterioration due tothe corrosive action of the gases and the high heat to which they aresubjected. Furthermore, these distributing pipes have to be connected upwith an elaborate system of outside piping for conveying the steam tothem. The installation of this piping is becoming more and moredifiicult due to the large size of modern boilers and to the presence ofother apparatus on the boiler walls. Such soot blowers are furtherlimited in their use by the steam pressure available, which frequentlynecessitates a large number of pipes for supplying the steam jets, andin a case of low. pressure boilers often there is not enough steampressure available to adequately'remove the soot.

My invention practically eliminates pipes inside of the apparatus to becleaned and also greatly reduces the outside piping complication andfurthermore makes the operation of the soot blower independent of thepressure available.

Briefly, my invention makes use of the fact that large volumes of gases,at high pressure 40 if desired, can be generated by the explosion ofsuitable chemicals; According to my invention the high pressure isconverted into velocity by means of correctly designed nozzles and thesenozzles direct the high velocity gases across the heating surface toremove the soot, and furthermore are useful for diverting the normalflow of the flue gases into new channels forming vertexes and eddieswhich also assist in removal of thesoot. In this description the wordexplosion is used in i a very general sense and may be either a quickcombination of the chemicals giving a sharp pufi', or a slower burningor chemical combination of the chemicals giving a more sustained orprolonged generation of larger volumes of gases; however, the explosionis controlled in respect to character, extent of vioplace ofapplication;

A typical arrangement of my apparatus suitable for the practice of myinvention is shown in the accompanvim drawings formlence, time ofoccurrence, and method and ing part hereof and in whi h Figure 1 is atypical cross section of a water tube boiler showing the arrangement ofthe water tubes, drums and the like. V

Figure 2 is a longitudinal elevation of the same boiler; and

Figures 3 and 4 are top or plan views of nozzles.

In the drawings pipes 1', 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are inserted through theboiler wall and terminate in suitable nozzles 13. These nozzles may beof the single type as shown in Figure 3 for projecting a single jet ofthe high velocity gases or they may be fan shaped as shown in Figure 4for distributing the cleaning fluid over a Wider area. Pipesl, 2, 3, 4,5, and 6 are connected to headers 10, 11 and 12.

In the practice of the invention by means of the described apparatus theheader 10, for instance, is filled with an explosive mixture which canbe detonated or fired producing a large volume of gas which is distribut1 ed by the pipes l, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to the nozzles and projectedacross the surface to be cleaned.

From the above description my method for removing soot will beunderstood; however, it should be understood that any arrangement of theprojecting nozzles and exploding chamber can be used in the practice ofthe invention to meet the requirements of any particular case. It isimmaterial the'number of jets that are used, their arrangement, or themethod of connecting them to the header. In some applications the gasesre- I sulting from the explosion may be simply mixed with the fluegases, the resulting increase in volume causing a sufficient increase100 in velocity to remove the soot.

Examples of materials are suitable forms of explosive powder, suitableexplosive admixtures of air and gas, and suitable chemicals'adapted toreact with the evolution of gas.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications maybe. made in details of procedure and in matters of mere form withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention Whichis not limited to suchmatters deflect the normal flow of flue gases producing. eddies andvortexes for the removal of soot.

' 2. The method of soot removal from the heating surfaces" of a chamber,which consists in generating a large volume of gas by firing anexplosive mixture, and admixing 15 the same with the flue gas toincrease the normal velocity of the gases passing through the a chamber.

8; The method of soot removal from heating surfaces which consists inproducing 2 gaseous jets by the explosion of suitable materials, andapplying the kinetic energy of the jets to'clean said surfaces byimpinging said jets on said surfaces.

' GEo FENNO.

